


Better Left Unsaid

by shatteredcrystalwings



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dark Continent Arc, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Non-Binary Kurapika, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-17 09:53:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16514084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shatteredcrystalwings/pseuds/shatteredcrystalwings
Summary: When Kurapika passes out aboard the Black Whale, a certain doctor is called to check on them.





	Better Left Unsaid

**Author's Note:**

> WHERE IS LEORIO, TOGASHI. HE'S ON THE DANG BOAT, WHY ISN'T HE CHECKING IN ON HIS KNOWN-TO-BE-SELF-DESTRUCTIVE FRIEND.

“How long have they been out?!”

“About… ten minutes, I think?”

“What?! Why did it take that long for you to call me?!”

“It’s a… The boat is…”

“Nevermind, we need to- What...?”

“What is it?”

“Their nen is still active, do you-”

Frantic voices wormed their way into Kurapika’s ears as confusion ebbed at the edges of their mind. Part of them tried to scrape its way back to where they had been before, back to reality, back to all the responsibility that they knew rested too heavily on their shoulders.

But they were tired. They were so, _ so _ , tired. They had been overusing their powers, overusing  _ themself _ . Maybe, just for now, they could let themself rest….

When they finally came back to consciousness, it was to the sensation of something soft and pleasantly cold on their forehead and the familiar scent of cheap cologne that made them forget for a moment that they were on this blasted ship  and not in a soft bed next to someone. Or, hold on, they were in a bed. When had that happened? 

Eyes flying open, they sat up so quickly that it sent them into a tailspin, falling backwards once again as the world spun and twisted before them. “Uuugh…”

“Hey!” a voice said, but, no it couldn’t be. It had to be someone else. “Stay down for a little while, ‘kay? You’ve been out for a while, let yourself readjust.”

“Leorio…?”

“Right here with ya, buddy. You’re alright, just overworked yourself a tad.”

Overworked. Right. Work. Work…

“The Queen!” This time they really did snap up in the bed, head whipping around in a way that did not help their dizziness.

A pair of hands came to their shoulders, pushing them back. “What did I just tell you?!”

“But what about the Queen? Is she okay? Is she safe? What about the prince?”

“She passed out too, same time you did. She woke up a little while ago and is with her other guards, she’s fine. They’re both fine.”

“I have to go…” Kurapika started, attempting to get out of the bed that they now realized was a portable cot only for Leorio’s hands to hold them back again.

“You need to  _ rest _ . She’ll be fine for a little while, she’s in good hands. You won’t be any good to her when you can barely take care of yourself.”

“I don’t matter, I need to-”

“HEY!” The sudden anger in Leorio’s voice was enough to finally make them pause, finally make them actually look at the man beside them rather than searching the room for the Queen. His hands were still on their shoulders, but they weren’t gentle anymore. “Don’t you dare say that. You’ve been out for  _ nine hours.  _ That doesn’t happen unless something is seriously wrong.”

Kurapika froze, staring at Leorio but not seeing him. Nine hours. They had left Emperor Time activated for _nine_ _hours_ while being completely useless. Their mind somersaulted as it tried to do the math for how much of their life they had just drained away while _asleep_. Three years? No, closer to four. 

They felt like they might pass out again.

“You need to turn your nen off, Kurapika,” Leorio said, as if reading their mind. “It’s only adding to the strain you’re going through. I’m shocked it even stayed active while you were out.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not? There’s no enemies around right now, it’s just the two of us. No one will notice if your chains disappear for a bit.”

Kurapika huffed, drawing a knee up towards their chest so they could lean on it. “That’s not the issue.”

“Then what-!? Hm?” Leorio cut of, reaching forward and taking Kurapika’s face in his hands in a way that made their eyes widen. They could still remember the first time he had done that; could remember the surprise, the anticipation, and the softness of the kiss that had followed. Surely he wasn’t going to, in this situation- “Why are your eyes red, Kurapika?” His voice was ice, worry frozen over by well-intentioned anger.

They could only blink in surprise for a moment. Had their contacts slipped when they fell? It should be almost impossible to see the bright hue of their irises. 

“You’re eyes don’t go red just from having your nen activated,” he continued. “What’s going on? Are there spiders around?”

“No! No, there aren’t, thankfully,” they said, pulling their head out of Leorio’s hands and pressing one of their own hands to their forehead. The coldness was nice. They wondered idly what had happened to the damp cloth that had been there when they’d woken. It had probably fallen somewhere with their sudden movement, they reasoned. A shame. “I don’t even want to think about how much worse this situation would be if there were spiders onboard.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Leorio pushed. “Why are your eyes red? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” they said, but they knew they wouldn’t get away with using an excuse. For as much of a buffoon Leorio was, he was annoyingly smart at times like this. “It’s part of my nen; you haven’t seen me use this ability is all. It’s nothing to concern yourself with.”

The edge of the cot dipped down as Leorio took a seat on it near Kurapika’s knees, causing the weak structure to creek and lower in that area so that Kurapika found themself almost falling into the man before managing to brace themself on the thin mattress. “Unless I can confirm if this ‘ability I haven’t seen before’ isn’t the reason you passed out, I’m going to be concerned. What does it do?”

Kurapika just glared at him. “It’s none of your concern,” they repeated.

Leorio raised a hand to flick their forehead. “What did I just say? Come on, do you suddenly not trust me?”

“Of course I do, I just-!” they cut off, flapping their jaw before looking away.

“Just what?”

The buried their head in their folded arms, leaving just enough of their face visible that they could still see. There was the cloth, laying on the very edge of the bed, so close it was about to fall off. Grabbing it, they pressed it back to the forehead. They still didn’t look at Leorio as they answered, “...I didn’t want to worry you.”

He was quiet for a moment. “...What about it would worry me, Kurapika?

They didn’t answer. It almost felt as though they couldn’t. They had long ago accepted the condition for Emperor Time, hell, they had decided upon it themself. But they hadn’t told anyone before. It was dangerous to reveal such a thing, for one, but, more than that, they knew telling anyone who was an ally would only cause that person to worry. 

And, right now, that’s what was happening.

As much as Leorio might be worried now, it would only increase once he found out that Kurapika was letting their desire for revenge literally eat their life away.

A cold drop of water landed on their hand, then another, and they realized with shock that they were crying. How long had it been since they had last…?

“Oh, come here,” Leorio said quietly, voice laced with annoyance that they knew wasn’t genuine, as he pulled them into his arms. “Aren’t you supposed be dangerous? A scary mafia hitman?”

Kurapika snorted, trying to ignore the tears that were falling steadily now. “I am not a hitman.”

Leorio paused for a second. “Hitperson?”

They actually let out a small laugh at that. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“And what are you gonna do? Hitman me?”

“That is not a real term.”

Leorio chuckled, letting go of Kurapika and leaning back again. Seizing their chance, they quickly rubbed away the tears that had thankfully slowed. “Alright,” he said, “On a scale of me being mildly put off by this new nen ability and me wanting to kill you because of it, how bad is it?”

Looking upwards at the paneled ceiling, they thought for a minute before answering, “You would probably want to punch me, at least.” 

“Alright then.” Leorio leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Kurapika’s surprised lips.

“...I don’t think that counts as a punch.”

“Let’s call it a headbutt,” he said with a crooked smile. He reached an arm forward, running it through their hair as he gazed at them with a softness that Kurapika hesitated to call love. “Is there anyway you can avoid using this power?” he asked.

Lowering their eyes, they shook their head slowly. “Not in this situation, no. It’s too dangerous and too much is at stake.” In their mind blossomed the memory of Prince Woble, only a baby yet already forced to enter a competition that set his own siblings vying for his life. Even if it hadn’t been their job, they couldn’t just leave him and his mother to the wolves. They flicked their eyes back up to meet Leorio’s. “You should get out of here soon. This part of the boat is too dangerous.”

“I hate to break it to you, but this entire boat is dangerous.”

Kurapika laughed humourlessly. “Then I guess we’re both screwed.”

“Yeah,” Leorio agreed, running his hand through their hair again. The smile had all but disappeared from his lips. “I guess we are.”

**Author's Note:**

> When I was fact checking stuff for this, I re-discovered that the only thing done for Kurapika when they fainted was someone put a pillow under their head. That is now what you do for someone who has passed out, you dinguses. 
> 
> Anyway. This is day 3 of me attempting to write 1k words a day all month, if you wanna follow that and or just chat with me I'm on Twitter and Tumblr as bizarrequazar, yadda yadda.  
> Thank you for reading! :D


End file.
